Tool for separating steel sheets



Oct. 3, 1939. as. WHITMER 2,174,646

TOOL FOR SEPARATING STEEL SHEETS Filed May 13, 1938 FIG. 1.

INVENTOR. 5 Earl E. Whicmer ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to tools for separating sheets of steel, or packs of said sheets, that have become more or less welded together during the process of rolling the same.

As is well known to those who are familiar with the art of rolling steel into sheets, when the sheets are wide and thin, say of 28 gauge thickness, they will buckle and warp. In order to cure this buckling and warping, it has been customary to fold such a thin sheet upon itself, to heat the doubled sheet, and then to roll the doubled sheet, after which the doubled and rolled sheet is sheared at the fold. By this rolling operation, both the upper and lower sheets will have had their irregularities pretty well smoothed out. However, sheets thus doubled and rolled tend to be welded together more or less and to adhere to each other by reason of the rolling operation to which they have been subjected. It therefore becomes necessary to separate the sheets which thus adhere to each other. One manner of effecting this separation is by the use of a wooden wedge and a sledge hammer. This, however, has proven extremely inefiicient. Another manner of separating the sheets is by the use of a knife, or mashie, wherein, after having separated the sheets at corresponding corners, the knife or mashie is swung between the sheets. This results in frequently cutting or otherwise marring the sheets so that approximately fifty percent of the sheets separated by this instrument have to be melted and reworked.

The purpose and object of this invention is to provide a tool, capable of being readily connected to and disconnected from a pneumatic hammer, which will effect the speedy separation of the sheets and with practically no damage thereto. The aforesaid tool is shown in the drawing forming part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 represents a plan View of the said tool and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the same, with parts broken away.

Describing the parts by reference characters, I represents a blade, which is made of hard steel, ground to a knife edge on the bottom and sides, as shown at 2. The blade is elongated, being preferably several times as long as its depth, and it may have its corners rounded. The central portion of the back of the blade is welded to a shaft 3, also preferably made of hard steel. Near its outer end, the shaft has rigidly secured thereon a sleeve 4 carrying a U-shaped handle 5. The length of the shaft between the sleeve and the blade will vary with the width of the sheets to be separated. The portion 3 of the shaft which projects beyond this sleeve is adapted to be fitted into the bore or chuck of a pneumatic hammer and is easily and quickly inserted into and removed from the said bore or chuck. The rear end of the sleeve 4 constitutes a stop or abutment which is adapted to engage the end of the bore of the pneumatic hammer and to insure that the rear end of the shaft is in proper position in the 5 bore of the hammer to be operated upon by the piston of the latter.

With the parts constructed and arranged as described, the operation will be readily understood. The corners of a pair of sheets having 10 been separated and the handle of the tool having been connected with the pneumatic hammer, the edge of the blade is inserted between the sheets and the blade is operated by said hammer to effect a complete separation of the sheets. In 15 operation, the handle is interposed between the hand of the operator and the sheets and, due to its shape, serves as a guard to prevent the cutting of the hands of the operator by the sharp edges of the sheets. After the completion of the sep- 20 arating operation, the tool may be quickly and easily detached from the hammer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A tool for the purpose described comprising an elongated blade having a cutting edge, a shaft connected at one end to the back of said blade, the opposite end of said shaft being adapted to be inserted into and removed from the bore of a pneumatic hammer, a sleeve secured to said shaft adjacent to the end which is remote from the blade, said sleeve being so located on said shaft as to constitute an abutment for engagement with the end of the hammer whereby such remote end of the shaft will be properly positioned in said bore for impact by the piston of said harmner, and a U-shaped handle having its ends connected to said sleeve along a line substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft.

2. A tool for the purpose described comprising 4 an elongated blade having a cutting edge, a shaft connected at one end to the back of said blade, the opposite end of said shaft being adapted to be inserted into and removed from the bore of a pneumatic hammer, the said shaft having an abutment, adjacent to the end which is remote from the blade, for engagement with the end of the bore of the hammer whereby such remote end of the shaft will be properly positioned in said bore for impact by the piston of said hammer, and a U-shaped handle located between the abutment and the blade and having its ends connected rigidly to said shaft along a line substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said 55 shaft.

EARL E. WHITMER. 

